Jonah was a biblical figure, the central figure of the Book of Jonah, and known for supposedly being swallowed whole by a whale, the story of which is also repeated in the Qur'an.
After being rescued from the transporter buffer aboard the USS Jenolin by the USS Enterprise-D, Montgomery Scott found himself comparing his situation to that of Jonah, in that he felt like he had been thrown overboard in order to save the ship. (Star Trek novel: Engines of Destiny)